Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct
cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s
into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For
concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces
between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are
single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C
abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of
abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.[AK]

NÍ AR CHNOC NÁ AR OSLEACHT.
Irish, Air. Piper Brian McNamara says the tune is associated with the Ranafast
region of CountyDonegal.
It was one of many Donegal tunes collected by the late Brother Jim Forristal of
Dublin (though originally from CountyWexford). Drumlin Records, Brian McNamara – “A
Piper’s Dream” (learned from tin whistle player Dooncha Briain). [COMMENT1][COMMENT2]

NICKY’S ARCHIVE. AKA and see “Teelin Polka [1].”
Irish, Barndance. The tune was named “Nicky’s Archive” by fiddler Patrick
Orceau because he obtained it from Kerry fiddler Nicky McAuliffe and he had no
name for it. The tune goes by the name of “Teelin Polka,” named for Teelin, CountyDonegal. Celtic Crossings CD0299-02, Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin
& Patrick Ourceau – “Tracin” (1999). Chieftains
– “Water from the Well” (appears as unnamed tune following “Dowd’s No. 9”).

NIEL GOW'S FIDDLE. Scottish, "Slowish" Strathspey. D Mixolydian. Standard
tuning. AB. Composed by Nathaniel
Gow (1763-1831) in honor of his father. The tune features a double‑tonic
modality and contrasting major triads, "a sly allusion to his father's
style" (Collinson, 1966). The following story of Niel Gow’s fiddle is told
by William C. Honeyman in his Strathspey
Players Past and Present (1922):

***

Niel used a violin by Gasparo da Salo, of Brescia, which from its large
tone was particularly

Suitable for his work, and which according to Mr. Kippen came into his
possession thus:--

***

A very musical Scottish lady, the wife of Colonel MacQuarrie, wished to
give a party at her Edinburgh

house in George Square,
and at which only the greatest musicians in the land should assist. She
accordingly

wrote to the Duke [of Atholl] for leaveof absence for the great fiddler.
The request was at once granted,

and Niel and his brother arrived at Edinburgh
in good time, but had some difficulty finding the house. The

servant led them into the kitchen, and then told her mistress that a
queer-looking pair of country men were

asking for her. While the girl was absent, Niel took down an old violin,
hanging on the wall, touched the

strings, found the tone good and then taking down the bow started to
test its tone thoroughly. Never in his

life had he heard such a grand tone come out of a violin.

***

“Save us a’, Donald! Was there ever in the warld sic a fiddle? It sounds
like an organ!” he cried, and continued to

pour forth his best music from the wonderful violin. The servant
returned to take him upstairs, but he saw her not;

he was lost to all but the music. The company upstairs began to creep
down and stood staring at the absorbed

performer. She asked him to stop, but I was only by holding his arm that
they got him to obey, and the Niel,

wiping the sweat from his brow, said to his hostess, “Lord mem, what a
fiddle! What a fiddle! All that night Niel

continued to use that strange violin instead of his own, and at every
pause gazed at it and exclaimed, “Sic a fiddle!

Sic a fiddle!” His whole soul was wrapped up in it. When about to part
with him Colonel MacQuarrie, who as eagerly

desired a memento of the great player, jocularly said to Gow, “When ye
think sae muckle o’ the fiddle what do ye

say to niffering it for your ain?”

***

Niel said not a word but in eager haste pulled his own fiddle out of its
bag and rammed it into the Colonel’s hands,

snatched at the Italian instrument, shoved it into the bag, and made for
the door, so excitedly as to even forget to

thank the donor.

***

“Come awa, Donald,” he anxiously said to his brother, “Come awa, for
fear he may rue it and want his fiddle back.”

***

Some time later, in the 1784, Niel was returning from a ball at Dunkeld
House on a frosty morning with this violin when

he slipped on the ice at Stairdam and fell, the concussion fracturing
seriously the breast of the violin. Aberdeen
was the

nearest town containing a skilled violin repairer, and Niel went
straight thither and handed the treasured fiddle to a violin

maker named Joseph Ruddiman, who easily made it as sound as it had been
before. This great violin, with another, and a

violincello, all Niel’s property , came into the possession of a
gentleman in central Perthshire. Seeing that they had been

neglected and were out of order, he took the violin with him to Dresden
in 1880, and handed it to Moritz Hamming who

took off the breast and found written inside, “Broken on the ice at
Stairdam in 1784 and mended in Aberdeen—N.
Gow.”

After careful examination, Hamming pronounced it to be a genuire Gasparo
da Salo. The violin has a full rich tone, that

of the fourth string being particularly grand.

***

The story doesn’t quite end there,
for later Honeyman writes:

***

The exchange of Colon
MacQuarrie’s Gasparo da Solo for Niel’s old fiddle took place in the year 1783,
but the adventures

Of the latter werenot yet over, indeed they might be said to have been
only begun, for Colonel MacQuarrie took the violin

With him when he went abroadon active service, and had it with him at
the taking of the Balearic Isles in Egypt
in 1801,

And at the siege and capture of Burgos
at Orthes, Toulouse, Salamanca,
and Vittoria, at the siege and
capture of Badajos

(where the Colonel was wounded), at the battle of Corunna, whence it
retreated with the army, being carried on the Colonel’s

back under his military cloak in defiance of General Sir John Moore’s
order to abandon everything that could impede the

flight. At last it reached its native Scottish hills, again in perfect
safely, and has been so well cared for by the Colonel’s de-

scendants that it was played upon by his grandson at a concert given on the
12th of January, 1893, at Tobermory. The special

providence which is said to watch over bairns and drunk men must surely
have been hanging over that fiddle.

NIEL GOW’S LAMENTATION
FOR JAMES MORAY, ESQ. OF ABERCAIRNY.AKA ‑ "Lament for Abercairny," "Lamentation for
Jas. Moray of Abercairny," "Neil Gow's Lament for Abercairny."
Scottish, Slow Air (4/4 time). G Major (most versions): A Major (Some Cape
Breton settings). Standard or ADae (CapeBreton) tunings. AB (Alburger,
Hunter, Skye): AAB (Athole, Gow, Martin, Neil). Composed Niel Gow on the
occasion of the death of his aristocratic friend and benefactor James Moray
(1705-1777), 13th of Abercairney, otherwise known as 'Auld Abercairny,'
one of the local Perthshire gentry with whom Gow was quite friendly. Abercairny
is an estate in Perth and Kinross,
Scotland, near Crief.
Moray married Lady Christian Montgomery, the daughter of Alexander, 9th
Earl of Eglinton, with whom he had six children (see Gow’s “Mrs. Moray of Abercairney’s
Strathspey/Reel”). Lady Christian’s sister, Lady Margaret, married Sir
Alexander MacDonald of the Isles, establishing a connection between the families
in Perthshire, the foothills of the Highlands, and the gaeltecht of the western Isles. The Pipe
piobraireached “Abercairney’s Salute” was composed as a result, as explained by
the MacArthurs of Skye website (http://www.linneberg.com/skye/smacarth.html):

***

This connexion produced a friendship and many reciprocal visits, and
Abercairny became very fond of

the Pipes, and had MacArthur, his brother-in-law’s Piper, a frequent guest
at his own seat. Having enlarged,

and much improved the mansion, a grand dinner was given, when every one
praised the elegance of the new

buildings, particularly the dining-room, which was allowed to be in
every respect perfect. (This room is in

what is now called the old castle. Its dimensions are 33 feet by 21, and
15 feet in height; and it is lighted by

four very large windows.) ‘The room and the entertainment are not,”
observed the hospitable proprietor

(Abercairny), “altogether complete; one thing is wanting to render them
so, to some of us perhaps—Charles

MacArthur, to animate the feast with his presence, and with the stirring
notes of his great Pipe.”

***

Neil (1991) relates:

***

The story is told that Abercarney jokingly attempted to embarrass

Niel in public over a five pound loan which he had made to him

and which Niel would repay in music, but had not yet done so.

Niel, however, turned the tables on him by inferring that
the

loan had been made in the opposite direction, by commenting

to the effect that, if Lord Abercarney had not brought the

matter up in the first place, then Niel would not have mentioned it.

***

This from a sketch called “Perth to
Dunkeld,” originally published in 1912:

***

The (horse-racing) grand stand was but half filled, and only three
carriages came. What a change

from the time when James Moray, of Abercairney, the first man who
established fox-hounds in

Perthshire, drove his four-in-hand on the Inch, when he kept the
ordinary in a roar by discoursing

like an old woman in the soundest Scotch, with a table-napkin round his
head, and when he never

flagged with hell or jest till the morning sun had peeped into many a
ball-room.

***

There is,
or was, a portrait of James Moray by D.C. Stewart, from which a tartan derives.

***

Hunter (1988) remarks it is "one of the finest
elegiac airs in the repertoire." Niel’s third son, Nathaniel, also
considered it one of his father’s best slow airs (Baptie, Musical Scotland:
Past and Present, 1972). It is often followed by the strathspey “Kilravock”
or “Kilrack.” Gow played the piece, among others, for Robert Burns in October
1787 when the latter visited the fiddler in Dunkeld, and the poet used the tune
for his song "Where, braving angry winter's storms." It is said to
have been Burns’ favorite Gow air, according to Christine Martin (2002). Nigel
Gatherer found the following passage in an old book called The Fiddle in
Scotland (n.d.) by Alexander G. Murdoch, from an account by Peter Stewart, who
accompanied Niel Gow during the Burns visit:

***

Arriving at Dunkeld, [Burns]...put up at the
principal inn...[He] was
fortunate in making the acquaintance of Dr Stewart, an enthusiastic
amateur violin player. At the dinner table he quoted to his guests the
well-known local ditty-
.Dunkeld
it is a little toon,
. An' lies intil a howe;
. An' if ye want a fiddler loon,
. Spier ye for Niel Gow.
Burns expressed much delight at the proposal...a visit was at once
agreed to.***The greeting was a cordial one on both sides, and the meeting of Burns
and Gow - both geniuses of the first order in their respective lines -
was mutually worthy of each other. The magician of the bow gave them a
selection of north-country airs mostly of his own spirited composition.
The first tune was "Loch Erroch Side" which greatly delighted the
poet,
who long afterwards wrote for the same melody his touching lyric "Oh,
stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay!"

At Burns's request, Niel next gave them his pathetic "Lament
for
Abercairney" and afterwards one of the best-known compositions in the
Highlands, "McIntosh's Lament". "Tullochgorum" was also
duly honoured,
after which the whole party adjourned to the little old-fashioned inn
at Inver, where there was a famous deoch, or parting friendly drink.

***

Cape Breton fiddlers sometimes play the tune in the key of
‘A’ major, in “high-bass” tuning, or scordatura ADae.

NIEL
GOW'S LAMENT FOR (THE DEATH OF) HIS BROTHER. AKA and see "The Gallowglass,"
"Lumps of Pudding(s) [2]."
Scottish, Air (6/8 time). G Dorian (Jones): A Minor (Johnson): E Minor (Gow).
Standard tuning. AB (Jones): AAB (Gow, Johnson). Attributed by some to Niel Gow,
perhaps because his name appears in the title in the Gow’s 2nd Collection (1788). It was, however, composed by
Niel’s son Nathaniel (1763-1831), and published by the Gows in 1788. It was
confusing even at the time, for poet Robert Burns demurred on the question of
Niel’s authorship, and wrote: "This air is claimed by Niel Gow, who calls
it 'Lament for His Brother'. The first half‑stanza of the song is old,
the rest is mine.' Burns, according to Dick, instructed that the tune's name be
left out of the (Scots Musical) Museum and instead (generically) called
a Gaelic air" (Alburger, 1983). Niel’s brother Donald (whose birth and
death dates are unknown) played the cello and often accompanied Niel for
performances; when he died his place on the instrument was taken by Malcom
McDonald (who published a famous collection of his own). Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels),
1788; pg. 18 (3rd edition). Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 5: Mostly Irish Airs), 1985 (revised
2000); pg. 19. Jones [ed.] (Complete Tutor
Violin), c. 1815; pg. 20. Claddagh Records CC34,
“The Whistlebinkies 3” (1981). SMD615, Pete Clark – “Even Now.”

NIEL
GOW'S LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF HIS SECOND WIFE. AKA and see “Miss
Graham’s Delight.” Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning.
AAB (Cranford/Holland, Gow, Hunter, Johnson, Neil): AABB’ (Perlman). This air
is one of the most celebrated compositions of the famous Scots fiddler and
composer Niel Gow (1727-1807). His second wife was Margaret Urquhart of Perth,
to whom he was happily married for three decades, the wedding having taken
place in 1768. Although all Niel’s children were the issue of his first wife,
Margaret Wiseman, Margaret Urquhart was welcomed by the family and maintained
affectionate relationships with all her stepchildren. Nathaniel Gow’s
(1766-1831) composition “Long
Life to Stepmothers” attests to this.After her death in 1805 Niel was grief-stricken and stopped playing for
a while, until encouraged to pick up the fiddle again by his family. When he
did so, he produced this air. A note below the air in the Gows’ Fifth Collection
(1809) reads: “They lived together upwards of thirty years; she died two years
before him. She had no issue.”

***

Pulver (1992) is of the opinion that
the lament “is one of the loveliest tunes ever written...it is full of
tenderness, and grace, and beauty.” Gow composed the tune with three turns of
the second part, each with a different ending, “the last one overflowing
sorrowfully into the repeat of part of the first half as though reluctant to
relinquish her memory” (Purser, 1992). Charles Gore points out that the melody
is closely related to the Irish air “Ketty
Tyrrell,” published several times in Scottish collections under its Irish
title and labelled as “Irish.” Perlman (1996) notes that Prince Edward Island
fiddlers play the second part with a condensed ending on the first repeat.
Source for notated version: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River,
North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 551.
Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000; No. 318, pg. 114.
Gow (Fifth Collection of Strapthspeys
Reels), 1809; pg. 2. Hunter
(Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No.
19. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 5:
Mostly Irish Airs), 1985 (revised 2000); pg. 19. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 98, pg. 133. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island),
1996; pg. 207. Purser (Scotland’s Music),
1992; Ex. 7, pg. 205. CAT-WMR004, Wendy MacIssac -
“The ‘Reel’ Thing” (1994). Culburnie Records CUL118D, Alasdair Fraser &
Paul Machlis – “Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle vol. One” (2000). RC2000, George
Wilson – “The Royal Circus” (2000). Redwing Music RWMCD 5410, Abby Newton
– “Castles, Kirks and Caves” (2001). Scottish Records 33 SR 135, Ron Gonella –
“Scottish Violin Music from the Gow Collections” (1973).

NIEL GOW'S RECOVERY. Scottish, Strathspey. C Major (Kerr): B Flat (Gow, Surenne). Standard
tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (Gow): AABB' (Kerr). Composed by Neil Gow (1727-1807)
and published on a sheet c. 1804. The first strain of this tune compares with
"This is no my ain house,"
according to John Glen (1895). Published on a single sheet by Gow and Shepherd
in 1804, accompanied by the Earl of Eglinton’s “Lady Montgomerie’s Reel,” with
the note: “Danced as a medley at the Queen’s Assembly in George Street the 18th
of January, 1804...” Kerr (Merry Melodies),
vol. 2; No. 100, pg. 13. Surenne (Dance
Music of Scotland), 1852; pgs. 110-111. Ron
Gonella – “A Triburte to Niel Gow.”

NIEL GOW'S SECOND WIFE
[1]. AKA and see "Athole Brose," "Loch Erroch Side," "Mr. Macdonald of Staffa's
Strathspey," "Niel Gow's Wife [1],”
“The Watchmaker.” Scottish, Strathspey. G
Minor. Standard tuning. AB. As "Mr. Macdonald of Staffa's
Strathspey," the tune is credited to Daniel McLaren of Edinburgh, a native
of Taymouth, Perthshire, who published it in 1794 (little else is known of
him). Because of the title, the tune is frequently but probably incorrectly
attributed to Niel Gow. Even so, the tune is properly “Niel Gow’s Wife,”
however the title has been altered a bit to accommodate the apocryphal story of
his fiddle being the famous fiddler-composer’s ‘second wife’ in his affections.The association has been made with other
fiddlers as well, and stems from the old saying that the minstrel’s ‘second
wife’ was his harp. A somewhat simplified version appears under this title in
the music manuscript of John Burks, dated 1821, who may have been from the
north of England (photocopy in ed. collection). Kerr (Kerr’s Collection of Reels and Strathspeys), pg. 11. Ron Gonella – “A Tribute to Niel Gow.”

NIEL GOW'S WIFE [1]. AKA and see "Athole Brose,"
"Loch Erroch Side,” "Mr. Macdonald of Staffa's
Strathspey," "Niel Gow's
Second Wife [1]," “The Watchmaker.”
Scottish, Strathspey. G Minor (Athole, Cole, Kerr, Skye, Surenne): A Minor
(Williamson). Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole, Cole, Gow, Kerr,
Skye): AA'BB (Williamson). Under the title "Mr. Macdonald of Staffa's
Strathspey," the tune is earliest credited to Daniel McLaren of Edinburgh,
a native of Taymouth, Perthshire, who published it in 1794 (unfortunately,
little is known of him). Gow and sons published the tune as “Niel Gow’s Wife”
in their Complete Repository, Book 2
(1802) with composer credits to Niel Gow (1727-1807). Still later, in
MacDonald’s Skye Collection (1887),
it is credited to Duncan MacIntyre. The title has been altered to insert the
word “Second” to “Niel Gow’s Wife”to
accommodate the apocryphal story of his fiddle being the famous fiddler-composer’s
‘second wife’ in his affections.Niel
did, however, have two wives, the first of whom, Margaret Wiseman, bore him
five sons; his second, Margaret Urquhart, had no children. The association of
instrument and intimate bond has been made with other fiddlers as well, and
stems from the old saying that the minstrel’s ‘second wife’ was his harp. Donal
Hickey, in his 1999 book on Sliabh Luachra musicians Stone Mad for Music, writes: “Pádraig (O’Keeffe) {1887-1963}
remained single and he used to call the fiddle ‘the missus’, declaring that it
gave no bit of trouble at all. ‘Just one stroke across the belly and she
purrs’, he would say.” The
tune is played in CountyDonegal
as a highland and is associated with the playing of Danny O’Donnell, James
Byrne and John Doherty.
See The Northern Fiddler (1979), pgs.
81 (bottom tune, and untitled highland) and 194; the latter an untitled
strathspey from the playing of Danny O’Donnell. Donegal fiddler Danny O’Donnell
recorded the tune in the 78 RPM era, last in a set of three Highlands
(preceded by “Polly Put the Kettle On [1]” and “The Bundoran Highland”). He
called his set “The Thistle and
Shamrock.” “The Watchmaker” is a related melody. “Niel Gow’s Second Wife”
appears in the music manuscript copybook of John Burks, dated 1821, who may
have been from the north of England
(photocopy in ed. possession). It is a rather simplified form of the original
strathspey, which retains only some of the characteristic dotted rhythms and
“Scots Snap.” Carlin (The Gow Collection),
1986; No. 446. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes),
1940; pg. 126. Feldman & O’Doherty (Northern
Fiddler), 1979; pgs. 81c (appears as untitled Highland) & 194 (appears
as untitled strathspey). Gow (Complete
Repository), Book 2, 1802; pg. 13. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 29 (appears as
"Neil Gow's Second Wife"). Kerr (Merry
Melodies), vol. 1; Set 21, No. 1, pg. 13. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 123. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 165. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
186. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland),
1852; pgs. 34-35. Williamson (English,
Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; pg. 60. Compass Records 7 4446 2,Oisíin McAuley – “From the Hills
of Donegal” (2007).

NIGGER… This offensive term for African-Americans
crops up from time to time in American music. The titles are included here for
completeness and for cross-referencing, and are by no means an endorsement of
their use—in fact there are usually very acceptable alternate titles that are
historically valid.Mark Wilson (2001)
says that the use of the word sometimes indicates that they were once played by
African-American musicians, as is the case with the tune “N....r Winder”
(“Portsmouth Winder”), and thus can provide some clues into African-American
fiddle (and banjo) traditions, largely vanished.

NIGGER FEVER [2].Old-Time, Breakdown. F Major (‘A’ part) & B
Flat Major (‘B’ part). From the repertoire of Vee Latty. The first strain is
similar to the verse of the song “One Little Story that the Crow Told Me,”
while the second strain is “Don’t You Cry Melinda.”

NIGGER IN/ON THE
WOODPILE [1]. AKA and see "In the Woodpile [1]," "Wood Pile Jig," "The Cotten Patch," "Nigger in the Cotton Patch." AKA -
- “The Woodpile Tune.” American, "Jig" (2/4 time). D Major. Standard
tuning. AABB (Cole): AABB' (Kerr). The tune has been credited to American
black-face minstrel Dan Emmett, Boston,
1845 (Hans Nathan), although the tune is unattributed in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (which does include many attributed
Emmett compositions). It may be an African-American tune to which Emmett’s name
became attached to, as a prime exponent of the racial and cultural mixing that
was minstrelsy. The melody is catagorized as a 'jig' in Ryan’s, meaning not the
familiar 6/8 time Irish jig, but rather a type of duple-metre 19th
century old‑time banjo tune perhaps associated with a type of dancing or,
derogatorily, with African-Americans. The type was also called a ‘straight’ or
‘sand’ jig, the latter because it was sometimes the vehicle for a kind of clog
dance on a sanded stage to reduce friction. “N….. in the Woodpile” was recorded
in newspater accounts as having been played by Professor Ludwig (of Cobb
County, Ga.) in a 1913 Atlanta, Ga. fiddlers' contest. The title has been
identified by Bayard (1944, 1981) as a "floating title" in
Pennsylvania, used for a number of different tunes, including a version of
"Jennie
Put the Kettle On (We’ll All Take Tea) [3]" (see also note for "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps)
and "Miss
McLeod's Reel."Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 82
(appears as “Wood Pile Jig”). Kerr (Merry
Melodies), vol. 2, c. 1880’s; No. 432, pg. 49. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 114. Recorded for Vocalion in
1924 by Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.).

NIGGER JIM. AKA and see "Jimmy King."
American, Reel. USA,
southwestern Pa. G Major. Standard tuning. One part. Bayard thinks it sounds
like an American minstrel song tune. The title is the same as the name of a
main character in Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn." Source for notated
version: George Strosnider (elderly fiddler from Greene
County, Pa., 1929) [Bayard].
Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981;
No. 151A, pg. 86.

NIGGER ON THE HILLSIDE. Old‑Time. The title appears in a list of traditional OzarkMountain fiddle tunes compiled by
musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

NIGGER ON THE WOODPILE
[2]. AKA and see "The Squirrel Hunters",
"Squirrel Hunting", "The Pennsylvania Quickstep [2]".
Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA,
southwestern Pa. A Mixolydian.
Standard tuning. AB. The was a floating southwestern Pennsylvania title for a
tune which is a member of a large British Isles tune family that Bayard (1981)
calls the "Welcome Home [3]"
tune family, after a representative member. Source for notated version: Hiram
White (elderly fiddler from Greene County, Pa.,
1930's) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the
Fiddle), 1981; No. 220H, pg. 176.

The
last verse is a floating verse and appears in several tunes. Yates says that
Glen Neaves’ version has more content about the slave trade. Folkways LP3830, Glen Neaves and the VirginiaMountain Boys. Musical Traditions
MTCD321-2, Pug Allen (et al) – “Far in the Mountains” (2002). Rounder CD 0383,
Mike Seegar & Paul Brown – “Way Down in North Carolina”
(appears as “Trader Boatman”).

NIGHT AT THE FAIR, A (Oidce Ag An Aonac). AKA and see “Night of the Fair.” Irish, Jig. Ireland,
Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB.
Source O’Leary pairs this jig with the slide “Bill the Weaver’s,”
according to editor Moylan. O’Leary himself though the tune to be “about two
hundred years old,” and identified it as one of the five or six jigs unique to
‘Bill the Weaver’ (Bill Murphy, father of Denis Murphy, called ‘the Weaver’ because
his parents were both weavers. See also the Ryan/Cole versions “Night of the
Fair.” Source for notated version: Bill the Weaver, via accordion player Johnny
O’Leary (Sliabh Luachra, Kerry), recorded at Na Piobairi Uilleann, February,
1981 [Moylan]. Moylan (Johnny O’Leary),
1994; No. 28, pgs. 17-18. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 23. O'Neill (Dance
Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 63,
pg. 27.

X:1

T:Night at the Fair, A

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:O’Neill – Dance Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems (1907), No. 63

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

A|B2A GED|EGG G2A|BGG dGG|BAA
ABc|B2A GED|EGG G2A|BGB Adc|BGG G2:|

|:d|egg eaa|egg ged|edB AGA|BAA
A2d|egg eaa|egg ged|ced cBA|BGG G2:|

NIGHT BEFORE LARRY WAS
STRETCHED, THE (An Oidce Roime
Crocad Lamrais).
AKA and see “To the
hundreds of Drury I write.” Irish, Air (9/8 time, "with spirit").
G Dorian. Standard tuning. AB. The song is a member of a group of ‘Execution
Songs’ written in the 1780’s in Newgate (prison) Cant or Slang Style in the
1780s. It begins:

***Oh the night before Larry was stretched
[i.e., hanged]

The boys they all paid him a visit,

A bait [food] in their sacks too they fetched,

For they sweated their duds [pawned their clothes]

till they ris it [rose it, i.e., got the money].

For Larry was ever the lad

When a boy was condemned to the squeezer [noose]

Would fence [sell] all the duds that he had

For to help his poor friend to a sneezer [drink?]

and warm his gob [mouth] 'fore he died.

***

There were numerous other satirical
or comical ballads written to the tune. Source for notated version: the tune
was transcribed for O’Neill by Chicago
police sergeant and fiddler James O’Neill, originally from northern
Ireland [O’Neill]. O'Neill (Music of
Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1979; No. 39, pg. 7.

NIGHT CAP [1], THE (An Biread Oidce). AKA and see “Judy Callaghan’s Jig.” Irish, Double
Jig. G Major (O’Neill): D Major (Treoir).
Standard tuning. AABB. Captain Francis O’Neill first published this tune in
1903, based on his own recollection of hearing it played in his childhood in Munster.
The earliest sound recording appears to be by fiddle player John Gerrity
in New York in 1920, at the very
beginning of the 78 RPM era. It was more famously recorded in 1935 by banjo-mandolin player
Michael Gaffney (b. 1896, Mullaun, Arigna, CountyRosommon). Gaffney paired with flute
player John McKenna (18801-1947) for a number of important recordings. McKenna was
originally from South County Leitrim, and started his working life as a
weighmaster for a coal mine, then emigrated and joined the New York City Fire
Department. Age 41 at the start of his recording career, he made some of his
most celebrated tracks when in his 50s. Paddy Ryan says McKenna recorded another version of “The Night Cap”
under the title “Judy Callaghan’s Jig.” Giblin (Collection of Traditional Irish Dance Music), 1928; 84. O'Neill
(Krassen), 1976; pg. 73. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1903/1979; No. 723, pg. 135. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 23,
pg. 20. Treoir, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2000;
pg. 20. Tara CD4011, Frankie
Gavin – “Fierce Traditional” (2001. Obtained from Jackie Small, who had it from
Harry Bradshaw and Nicholas Carolan).

NIGHT OF THE FUN [1]. AKA and see "Maid(en) on
the Green." Irish, Air or Slide (12/8 time). C Major/A Minor. Standard
tuning. One part. A version of "Maid on the Green." Stanford-Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 564, pg.
143.

NIGHT WE MADE THE
MATCH, THE (An Oidce Do
Rinneamar An Reite/Cleamnas). Irish, Hornpipe. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Hans Nathan, in
his book about the American minstrel Dan Emmett, asserts that strains from this
tune contributed to the formation of the popular tune "Hell on the Wabash" (Bayard,
1981, pg. 352). O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 182. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1636, pg. 304.
O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland:1001
Gems), 1907/1986; No. 863, pg. 149.

NIGHTINGALE [4], THE. English, Scottish; Jig. G Major. Standard
tuning. AABB. This old air about the British Islesnightingale is sometimes claimed as Scottish, but
according to Chappell (1859) it is of English origin, and indeed, it sounds
English. The nightingale, a small and rather drab migratory thrush, was prized
for its melodious bird-song, and thus the subject of many songs and tune
titles. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol.
3; No. 263, pg. 29.

NIGHTENGALE [5], THE. English, Morris Dance Tune (6/8 time). G
Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune, collected from the Cotswold village
of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire,
may be a variation of version #4 as there are some melodic similarities. Bacon
(The Morris Ring), 1974; pg. 295.

NIGHTINGALE [6], THE. AKA and see “Dan Dowd’s,” “Dowd’s,” "Seán Ryan's," "O'Dowd's (Jig),” “Pat Lyons’." Irish, Jig. A Minor.
Standard tuning. AABB (Harker/Rafferty): AABB’. Composed by Tipperary
fiddle player Sean Ryan (d. 1985). The melody often appears in a set with
another Ryan composition, “The Castle Jig
[2],” and they are often called “Sean Ryan’s Jigs.” It was first recorded
by Clare musicians Paddy Canny and P.J. Hayes on their 1960 album as “Seán
Ryan’s.” Source for notated version: New Jersey
flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway,
in 1926 [Harker]. Breathnach (CRÉ III),
26 (appears as untitled jig). Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland),
vol. IV; 61. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike
Rafferty), 2005; No. 206, pg. 63. Ryan (The
Hidden Ireland:
the Music of Seán Ryan), pg. 13.Shanachie 29005, Johnny Cronin and Joe “banjo” Burke (1977.
Appears under the title “The Top of Cork Road”).Bobby Casey – “Taking Flight.”

NIGHTINGALE WALTZ, THE. Old‑Time, Waltz. The title appears in a
list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist
Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

NIGHTINGALE’S PRELUDE, THE (Profiad Yr Eos Brido). Welsh. From the Robert Ap Huw
manuscript (a manuscript of bardic music of Wales from the Renaissance and
Middle Ages, now housed in the British Museum), deciphered by Arnold Dolmetsch.
Ap Huw was a harpist who lived in the time of Elizabeth I and James IV. Flying Fish FF70610, Robin Huw Bowen – “Telyn Berseiniol Fy
Ngwlad/The Sweet Harp of My Land” (1996).

NIMBLE FINGERS [2]. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed in 1926 by
Aberdeenshire fiddler and composer J. Murdoch Henderson (1902-1972), dedicated
to a blind pianist from Aberdeen named Miss Carr. Cape Breton fiddler Joe
MacLean recorded the melody on an early 78 RPM disc. Paul Cranford (1997) notes
the tune was meant to be played as a listening tune at something slower than
dance tempo, but that Winston Fitzgerald ‘smoothed out’ some of the ending
arpeggios and chromatics to enable him to play it for dances. Source for
notated version:Winston Fitzgerald
(1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 96, pg. 40. Henderson (Flowers of Scottish Melody), 1935.

NIMBLE FINGERS [3]. Irish, Jig. “Composed” by Tipperary
fiddle player Seán Ryan (d. 1985). It is, however, the last two parts of the
jig “Gold Ring [3]"as recorded by Paddy Killoran in 1937. Ryan
(Seán Ryan’s Dream), 24.

NINE-PINS
(NINEPINS) [1]. AKA and see "Cats in the Village." English,
Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. ABC. Ninepins is a game similar to bowling, and
although there are various rules and procedures for the game, it is generally
played with hand-sized balls and a set of nine slender pins arranged in a
diamond pattern. The game was popular in Europe for several hundred years
before being imported to the New World in the 1600’s where it was a favorite
with early Dutch and German settlers. Ninepins could even be found in Puritan
communities despite the elders’ consistent objections to such pleasurable
activities. The game of ninepins was a popular betting game, too popular
for some lawmakers, who outlawed the game in Connecticut and New York in the
early 19th century.

There
is a dance in New England called the "Ninepins Quadrille" which
features designated dancers ('ninepins') scrambling for partners. In Scotland,
too, Ninepins (or, as it was sometimes called, Ninepins Reel) was a part of the
traditional dance repertoire, though it fell into a separate category from the
reels and country dances.If set in
reel time the melody is that of the French-Canadian classic “La Bastringue.” The jig-time tune appears as
“Portugeuse Dance” in the Joseph
Kershaw manuscript from the North West of England dating from 1820 onwards.
Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 2,
1954; pg. 47. Raven (English Country
Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 108.

NINE PINT COGGIE [3], THE. Irish, Reel. Ireland, County Donegal. A Major.
Standard tuning. AAB. The tune is similar to Scott Skinner’s “Davie Work.” Nigel Gatherer points out the
first part is actually closer to James Fraser’s “The Mill Burn [1],” although as a whole
(and especially in the ‘B’ part) it seems derivative of Skinner’s tune. Ted
Hastings suggests that source Doherty, a fan of Skinner’s, may have confused
the tunes and titles of “Davie Work” and “Nine Pint Coggie.” Source for notated
version: fiddler John Doherty
(1985-1980, CountyDonegal)
[Feldman & O’Doherty]. Feldman & O’Doherty (The Northern Fiddler), 1979; pg. 72.

X:1

T:Nine Pint Coggie, The [3]

M:C|

L:1/8

S:John Doherty

R:Reel

Z:Transcribed by Ted Hastings

N:from The Northern Fiddler p. 72

K:A

E|[C2E2A2] cA GABc|dcBA GEGB|(3AAA
cA Bcdf|ecdB {d}cAAa|!

(3AAA cA GABc|dcBA GEFG|AcEc
ABcd|ecdB cA A:|!

a|(3aaa Aa fddf|(3bbb Bb geeg|(3aaa
Aa fdfa|ecdB {d}cAAa|!

(3aaa Aa fddf|(3bbb Bb gefg|agae
fdfa|ecdB cA [CE]||

NINE POINTS OF KNAVERY. Irish, Reel. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AAB. The only appearance of
this tune is in the Forde Collection, contained in Joyce’s publication. William
Forde was a distinguished musician from County Cork, who collected some of his
work in 19th century County Leitrim, where he collected this tune
from James Blair, at the time a stipendiary magistrate in Ballinamore (although
originally from Armagh). Source for notated verison: Mr. James Blair, Armagh,
via Forde (Joyce). Joyce (Old Irish Folk
Music and Song), 1909; No. 447, pg. 251.Drumlin Records, The McNamara Family – “Leitrim’s Hidden
Treasures” (1999).

NINE POINTS OF ROGUERY, THE (Naoi nArda na Rógaireachta). AKA and see “The Black Fanad Mare,” “The Black Mare of Fanad,” “Kiltyfanad Reel.” Irish, Reel. D Major
('A' and 'C' parts) & D Mixolydian ('B' part) {Brody, Mallinson}: D
Mixolydian ('A' and 'B' parts) & D Major ('C' part) {Breathnach}. Standard
tuning. AA'BB'CC'BB' (Brody): AABBCCBB (Martin & Hughes): AABBCCAABB
(Breathnach): AABBA’A’BB (Mallinson). The title remains somewhat of a mystery.
According to chivalry the nine points of knightly virtue were honor, loyalty,
liberality, pride, good faith, bravery, glory, unselfishness and courtesy, and
it may be surmised that the nine points of roguery were the opposite. The way
the Boys of the Lough play the tune, after the three parts of the tune are
played through once, the 'B' part is repeated, and only then the 'A' part is
played again. One of the parts is often an octave transposition of another, as
is occasionally the custom in Donegal fiddle tradition; for example
Breathnach’s transcription of Doherty’s version has the ‘C’ part that is simply
the ‘A’ part an octave higher. In County Donegal the tune is known as “The
Black Mare of Fanad” (see note for this tune for a story of the origins of the
title); see The Northern Fiddler (pg.
65). Source for notated versions: Boys of the Lough (Ireland/Shetland), who had
the tune from the Castle Ceili band (Dublin)
[Brody]: fiddler John Doherty,
1965 (Co.Donegal, Ireland)
[Breathnach]. Breathnach (CRÉ II),
1976; No. 264, pg. 137. Brody (Fiddler’s
Fakebook), 1983; pg. 202. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland),
1974, Vol. 1, No. 26. Feldman & O'Doherty (The Northern Fiddler), 1979; pg. 65. Jordan
(Whistle and Sing), 1975; 41.
Mallinson (Essential), 1995; No. 50,
pg. 22. Martin & Hughes (Ho-ro-gheallaidh),
1990; pg. 37. Folkways FTS 31098, Ken Perlman ‑
"Clawhammer Banjo and Fingerstyle Guitar Solos." Philo 1026, Boys of
the Lough‑ "Live." Shanachie 29003, Tommy Peoples and Paul
Brady‑ "The High Part of the Road." Shanachie 79002, "The
Boys of the Lough" (1973). Trailer 2086, "Boys of the Lough."

NINETY-FIRST AT MODDER RIVER, THE. AKA – “The 91st at Modder
River.” Scottish, March (2/4 time). B Minor. Standard tuning. AABB’CCDD’. The
title refers to a river in South Africa, the site of British setbacks in the
Boer War (1899-1902). The 91st Regiment is the Argyle and Sutherland
Highlanders and the 1st Battalion of the regiment joined Lord
Methuen in October, 1899, in time to take a prominent part in the battle of the
Modder River. By that time the war was a month old, with the Boers,
Dutch-German settlers, laying siege to Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberly.
Methuen set off in relief of Kimberly, with the 91st and piper James
Mackay. Harrased by snipers, the column reached the Modder River, 25 miles from
Kimberly, on November 28th and the Highlanders were sent to secure a
railroad bridge across the river that was thought to be lightly defended by the
settlers. Instead, they found an entrenched foe of some 7,000, who laid down a
deadly fire with rifles and field artillery. The Argyle and Sutherlanders
managed to ford the river, but on the far bank they were pinned down by
withering fire. Only nightfall allowed them to retreat and regroup for a push
the next day. However, on arising they found the Boers had deserted their
positions during the night, after inflicting 468 casualties on the British
against 20 of their own dead. Martin (Ceol
na Fidhle), Vol. 4, 1991; pg. 43. Sandy MacIntyre
- “Steeped in Tradition.”

NINETY-THIRD'S FAREWELL TO GIBRALTER, THE. Scottish, Quickstep March (2/4 time). A Major.
Standard tuning. AA'BB'CC'DD. The 93rd Regiment is the Sutherland
Highlanders, merged in 1881 with the 91st Regiment to form the
famous Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

NINTH
OF JANUARY.AKA – “Lost
Indian [9],” “Old Time Eighth of January.” Old-Time, Breakdown. D Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB.
Beisswenger & McCann (2008) relate that the tune is Holt’s version of
Charlie Deckard’s playing of “The Eighth of January.” It was different enough
to provoke exceptions from those who knew the fairly common “Eighth of January” tune, saying it was not correct. Finally, Holt simply
gave it a similar but different name. The melody was in the repertoire of Alton
Jones under the alternate titles, above. Source for notated version: Bob Holt
(1930-2004, Ava, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann]. Beisswenger & McCann
(Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; pg. 64. Rounder CD 0432, Bob Holt – “Got a Little Home to Go to” (1998).

NIXON’S FAREWELL. American, Breakdown. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed on the
occassion of President Nixon’s resignation in the mid-1970's by Curtis Bouterse
(San Diego, California). Since then the tune has been folk-processed into
several versions. Songer (Portland
Collection), 1997; pg. 147. Clyde Curley - “Tunes
of the Gods: Old-Time Music for the Mandolin” (1994).